2 News front
Kate O’Reilly
WHAT’S ON
■ MOTHERS’ LUNCH: UNICEF
Goodwill Ambassador Mia Farrow will
be the special guest at the 15th annual
UNICEF Ireland Mother’s Day Lunch
on Friday next at the Four Seasons Hotel, Dublin 4. All proceeds from the
lunch go to UNICEF’s Safe Motherhood
Programmes which provide lifesaving assistance to the most vulnerable mothers
and babies around the world. Marty
Whelan will be MC on the day and tickets are €95 from www.unicef.ie
■ MBS CORK: The Mind Body Spirit
opens today from 1pm to 9pm at Cork
City Hall and continues from 10am to
6pm tomorrow and 11am to 6pm on
Sunday. Entry is free and there will be
more than 40 exhibitors, lectures and
workshops. Workshops will be on learning to dowse, the kabbalah, attracting the
money, guardian angels, meditation and
preventing back pain. Full details on
www.mindbodyspirit.ie
■ BUMP & BEYOND: The first ever
Bump & Beyond Expo in the Midwest
organised by parents’ website Mykidstime.ie, will be held at the Limerick
Strand Hotel tomorrow. Come along between 11am and 6pm to this free exhibition to find out about the latest baby
products and pick some tips from service
providers and baby experts. There will be
a range of talks and demos including nutrition, first aid, baby yoga and Pilates.
For more information log onto
www.mykidstime.ie
■ DYSLEXIA WORKSHOP: A workshop for Junior Cert students who are
dyslexic will be held at Bishopstown
Community School on Saturday, Mar 24.
The workshop will cover maths and English, exploring ways to maximise potential, with particular focus on making the
exam dyslexia friendly. The workshop is
open to 2nd and 3rd year students and
costs €20 for DAI members and €30 for
non-members. Places are limited, so
book by Mar 16. Enquiries to
086-3858463.
■ GO FOR GOLD: The Bowery on
Tuckey Street, Cork, is hosting its annual
Cheltenham at The Bowery event on
Friday next in aid of Special Olympics
Munster. The event will be hosted on
The Bowery’s rooftop garden, which will
be decked out for all-weather racing,
complete with gold themed décor, plasma TVs and an artificial lawn. Arrive
from 1pm to receive a complimentary
cocktail and free bet on a Gold Cup race.
Proceeds from this year’s raffle and Cheltenham Buster, which costs €2 to enter,
will go to the Special Olympics.
■ ALPHAMUSIC TOUR: Alphamusic
composer, John B Levine, is touring Ireland from Mar 11 to 23 giving a talk on
lifting your spirits out of depression. His
alphamusic CDs use sounds to induce the
brain to settle into an alpha or calmer
state. He will be speaking at health stores
throughout Ireland, starting with Horan’s
stores in Kerry on Monday and Tuesday
and the MBS in Dublin on Mar 18. A
full itinerary is available on www.silenceofmusic.com.
● Items for inclusion in this column
can be sent to koreilly8@gmail.com

P to 100,000 women in Ireland
are estimated to be affected by
endometriosis — a chronic
gynaecological condition which results in
pelvic pain, ovarian cysts and infertility.
It’s International Endometriosis Awareness
Week (Mar 5 - 11) and the Endometriosis
Association of Ireland (EAI) is urging
people to find out more about the condition so they can take steps to help themselves or anyone else who is showing symptoms. “We want the word endometriosis
and its symptoms to be well known
throughout the country, in every home,
school and workplace,” says Clodagh Lynam
chairperson of EAI.
“There is no cure for endometriosis, so
advice and information on self-care and self
management is vital in learning to live with
this long-term illness.”
Dr Moya McMenamin, clinical research
fellow at the National Maternity Hospital,
Holles Street says, “Endometriosis cannot
be prevented, but its management can be
optimised to improve pain and fertility, particularly if diagnosed early,” she says.
“Definitive diagnosis of the condition requires laparoscopy, an invasive procedure
under general anaesthesia. And once diagnosed, the mainstay of treatment is surgical
or medical or a combination of both.
“One of the most widely accepted
theories for the cause of endometriosis is
retrograde menstruation. This is a phe-

MANAGING PAIN: Management of
endometriosis can be optimised to improve
pain and fertility. Picture:iStock
nomenon seen in most women where some
of the endometrial cells shed during menstruation are refluxed back up the fallopian
tubes into the pelvis.
“Most women with retrograde menstruation, however, do not develop
endometriosis, but the characteristics of
endometrial cells in affected women may

predispose to their implantation outside the
womb.”
While a specific endometriosis gene has
yet to be identified, “there is a six-fold increased risk of having endometriosis if a
first-degree relative is known to be affected.
Its diagnosis should be considered in every
woman of reproductive age who presents
with pain and infertility, ” says Dr McMenamin,
■ 5-10% of Irish women have endometriosis.
■ One third of sufferers will have difficulty
conceiving.
■ The lifetime risk of sufferers developing
ovarian cancer is 1.5% which is just slightly
higher than the national average of 1%.
■ Treatment includes ablation therapy of
endometriosis deposits with laser, removal
of cysts and radical hysterectomy.
■ Medical therapies are designed to create
a low-oestrogen environment, reduce the
frequency and amount of menstruation and
or relieve pain.
■ To read more on the subject, check out
a new book by nutritional therapist Henrietta Norton. (Kyle Books, €13.60), it’s
packed with advice on the diet and lifestyle
changes that can help to reduce symptoms.
■ For information about Endometriosis
Awareness Week and the condition visit
www.endo.ie or call 01-8735702.

HEALTH NOTES
New research funded by the Irish Cancer Society reveals a new strategy for breast cancer
treatment that uses gene therapy to stop the
growth of breast cancer tumours. The collaborative research initiative — led by Dr Mark
Tangney and his team at UCC — shows that
by delivering beneficial human genes by
means of a virus to breast cancer tumour cells,
the genes will generate signals within the tumour to cut off its blood supply and stop its
growth. This therapy uses genes from humans
rather than from viruses, resulting in significantly longer lasting therapy. Still in its infancy,
this gene therapy targets breast cancer tumour
cells without harming healthy cells, which is
the ultimate aim for all cancer treatments.
The findings of a team of researchers from the
University of Limerick may improve the lifespan of orthopaedic implants thereby improving
patient recovery, reducing risk of infection and
ultimately reducing the need for secondary
surgical procedures. They have explored a link
between sterilisation methods and wear in the
polyethylene based material called Ultra High
Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE)
which is predominantly used in artificial joints.
Dr Maurice N Collins of the Stokes Institute in
UL explained; “Currently some orthopaedic
materials have failure rates of 13% over five
years. Our research hopes to explain the failure mechanisms in these materials in order to
positively impact on the longevity of implants”.

www.irishexaminer.com
www.irishexaminer.com

BREAST SUPPORT: Clare Boyle has
opened a clinic in Cork to help
women who are experiencing
problems with breastfeeding.
Picture: Darragh Kane

Midwife and lactation consultant Clare Boyle
has opened a private breastfeeding clinic in
Bishopstown, Cork. The clinic will help women
who are experiencing problems with breastfeeding to access skilled help easily. Ms Boyle,
who is an International Board Certified Lactation
Consultant, has been supporting breastfeeding
mothers for the past ten years. For details see:
www.breastfeedingconsultant.ie.
More than 750 participants took part in the first
Kinsale Pink Ribbon Walk on Sunday March 4,

www.irishexaminer.com
feelgood@examiner.ie

FRIDAY, MARCH 9, 2012

raising €80,000 for Action Breast Cancer, a
programme of the Irish Cancer Society. Soprano Cara O’Sullivan lent her support on
the day and performed Stand up and fight
which inspired walkers as they headed off
on the 10km route.
Since 2009, The Pink Ribbon Walks in
Kells, Co Meath and Ballina/Killaloe, Co
Clare have raised €400,000 for Action Breast
Cancer. The Kinsale Pink Ribbon Walk hopes
to add significantly to this figure in 2012. See
www.pinkribbonwalk.ie for further details.

OING on tour from age four with his
renowned tenor father Frank Patterson and
pianist mum Eily O’Grady was “just
normal”, says Éanán Patterson.
“That was life. When I was born, people told my dad
‘you won’t be touring as much now’. He said he’d either
give up singing and spend time with his family or he’d
take his family with him — and that’s what he did,” says
Éanán, 34, who will be narrator for the 12th Anniversary
Celebration of the Golden Voice of Frank Patterson, at
The National Concert Hall on Mar 15.
An award-winning composer, Éanán has been scoring
and producing music professionally for the likes of RTÉ,
TG4, Setanta Sports and PBS since 2004. He co-wrote
and produced Language Of Love, an Ireland Eurovision
2012 song entry. He wrote the score for IFTA nominated
documentary TK Whitaker — Servant of the State and he
composed original music and arrangements for new Irish
Dance show Celtic Rising.
Éanán spends his time between Ireland and the US —
New York and Los Angeles.
■ A 12th Anniversary Celebration of the Golden Voice
of Frank Patterson features Sean Costello as Frank Patterson with soprano Sandra Oman, their musicians and
special guests.

no controlling it. When I hear his voice, it’s as if I’m there
and he’s there again.
What trait do you least like in others?
People who are full of themselves and who lack interest
in others.

What trait do you least like in yourself?
I’m a bit of a workaholic so I’d like to achieve a better
balance between work, family, girlfriend and friends.
Do you pray?
Yes, every night. I pray to my father and to my grandparents and I include God in it. I don’t believe in organised religion but I believe in something greater than myself
and that when we move on it’s not over.
What would cheer up your day?
A true original idea is very rare in life. I spend everyday
trying to write something. Sometimes you hit on a cool
little melody – when you get a new idea, it’s like a drug.
Helen O’Callaghan

What shape are you in?
I’m not in my best shape. I used to be in better
shape when I was at college — I played tennis for
Fordham University in New York. Now I’m sitting
in recording studios most of the time. But it’s definitely something I’m working on. I go to the gym
three times a week.
Do you have any health concerns?
I have no real health concerns. I suppose the only
thing I’d worry about would be cancer because it
runs in both sides of my family.

All nEw IntErIors sEctIon

What are your healthiest eating habits?
Trying to get a proper schedule is challenging, but
I always have a big breakfast — cereal, banana, yoghurt. I try to have a light lunch like soup or fruit
salad. I eat my main meal in the evening.

Each week we take on an interiors
challenge and give you expert tips and
advice on how to get the best results for
your budget.

What’s your guiltiest pleasure?
I’m a big fan of the movies and I can’t watch one
without having popcorn.
What would keep you awake at night?
I work from job to job, so worry about where the
next gig is coming from might keep me awake.
When I’m working on one project I’m already pitching and on to my agent about what’s next in the
pipeline. There isn’t a lot of security, but then nine to
five jobs don’t have security now either. I’m multi-tasking all the time.

Plus Ask the expert - stylish homes get the look & step by step DIY.

EvErY
sAturDAY

How do you relax?
Watching TV, going out for a drink with the lads
and, of course, cinema is a great way of escaping reality for a couple of hours.
Who would you invite to your dream dinner party?
I’d invite Ennio Morricone, the Oscar-winning
film composer.

y
t
r
e
p
o
r
P

What’s your favourite smell?
Roses.

& Interiors

What would you change about your appearance?
I’d get fit and just get the weight down. I’d need to
lose three stone. Being overweight is very cumbersome — you feel trapped in your own body.
When did you last cry?
Whenever I hear my father singing on record, there’s

Sugar may be sweet, but is it making us
sickly? Lisa Salmon investigates

I

F you take sugar with your tea or
put it on breakfast cereal, think twice
— you may be ingesting a poison. A
new report claims sugar is a toxin and
not just because of those empty calories
that cause weight gain.
Scientists from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), who
took a new look at the mounting scientific evidence on sugar, say that at the
levels consumed by most
people, sugar can change
metabolic rates, raise
blood pressure, critically
alter the signalling of
hormones and causes
significant damage to
your liver.
These health hazards
mirror the effects of drinking too much alcohol (distilled sugar), and the scientists suggest that measures
used to reduce alcohol and
tobacco consumption, such
as taxation and controlled
access, might be useful in
helping to reduce sugar
consumption too.
“As long as the public
thinks that sugar is just
’empty calories’, we have
no chance in solving this,”
warns the report’s lead author Dr
Robert Lustig, a UCSF childhood
obesity expert.
Sugar is a carbohydrate that’s found
naturally in most foods, but is also
added to many foods, such as sweets,
cakes and some fizzy and juice drinks.
Sugar is viewed by some as a key
cause of the obesity pandemic, contributing to 35 million deaths annually
from non-communicable diseases such
as diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
But it’s not just the obese who may
be at risk from sugar’s toxicity, says Dr
Lustig, pointing out that normal weight
people could benefit from sugar reduction as well.
He insists that while there are good
calories and bad calories, good fats and
bad fats, “sugar is toxic beyond its
calories” when it’s consumed to excess
and that virtually every country in the
world, including Ireland, is now over
the “toxic threshold”.
The National Adult Nutritional Survey in 2011, found that 26% of Irish
men and 21% of Irish women are now
obese. Yet changing eating habits is not
going to be easy, experts admit.
Study
co-author
Laura
Schmidt, a
professor of
health policy at
UCSF,
stresses:
“We’re not
talking
prohibition, we’re
not advocating a major imposition of the Government into people’s lives. We’re talking about gentle ways to make sugar
consumption slightly less convenient,
thereby moving people away from the
concentrated dose.
“What we want is to actually increase

Feelgood

Blind date: Final week
Relationships coach Avril Mulcahy

people’s choices by making foods that
aren’t loaded with sugar comparatively
easier and cheaper to get.”
Lustig and his co-authors also say that
policies similar to those used to reduce
alcohol and tobacco consumption, such
as taxation and controlled access, plus
tightening licensing requirements on
vending machines and snack bars that
sell high-sugar products in schools and
workplaces, could help reduce
sugar consumption.
Dr Amelia Lake, a dietician
and public health nutritionist,
points out that picking up food
or drink that’s laden with sugar
in a shop is much easier than
buying something healthier.
“Sugar and sugary foods are
always going to be part of the
diet, but should be a much
smaller proportion of it,” she
says.
“It would be difficult to exclude them, and we wouldn’t
want to do that, but it’s all
about proportion. If these
sugary products are in your
face all the time, it’s hard to
resist.”
She says people need to
read food labels to see how
much added sugar there is in
a product: more than 15g per 100g
is classed as high sugar, while 5g or less
per 100g is low sugar.
“It’s like salt – we’re all tuned in to
think that less salt’s better, and we
should think about added sugar in the
same way.
HOW TO
CUT
DOWN:
For a
healthy
balanced
diet, many
of us need
to cut
down on
food and
drink
containing
added sugar.
■ Instead of sugary fizzy drinks and
juices, try water or unsweetened fruit
juice.
■ Dilute fruit juice for children to further reduce sugar.
■ For fizzy drinks, dilute fruit juice
with sparkling water.
■ Swap cakes or biscuits for a currant
bun, scone or malt loaf.
■ If you take sugar in hot drinks, or
add sugar to breakfast cereal, gradually
reduce the amount until you cut it out
completely.
■ Instead of jam or sugary preserves on
toast, try sliced banana or low-fat cream
cheese.
■ Check labels to pick foods with less
added sugar, or go for low-sugar varieties.
■ Try halving the sugar used in recipes
— it works for most things except jam,
meringues and ice cream.
■ Choose tins of fruit in juice rather
than syrup.
■ Choose wholegrain breakfast cereals,
but not those coated with sugar or
honey.

5

XH - V2

asks our couples about life after their blind dates

Kiss ’n’ tell...

AVRIL’S
VIEW
Aoife and Dave — busy schedules
and past relationships seem to have
got in the way of our first couple and
they threw in the towel early on. All
the signs were good — a great first
date and two well matched singles.
However, the decision to meet for
their second encounter at a family
gathering was a case of wrong place
and wrong time. Both are fun characters but there wasn’t
enough chemistry to drive them on to a more committed arrangement.
Mícheál and Jayne are our success story of the blind date
series. Mícheál is a gem and this couple has huge potential.
But they need to recognise this. Women put a lot of energy into dreaming of the perfect guy, but not enough into envisioning the relationship they want. If they work on it together they
could have a relationship that will last.

Date 2:

STILL INTERESTED: Jayne O'Connor who is from Tipperary and
Mícheál McGrath, from East Cork, live at a distance from each other
but are still keen to continue meeting up.
Picture: Dan Linehan

MÍCHEÁL MCGRATH
Has there been any contact since the date?
Yes, there were many texts going over and
back. But it was difficult to arrange a meeting.
I’m in the middle of the busy farming season and
Jayne is commuting from Tipp.

Date 1:

MOVING ON: Aoife McKenna has started going out with
another guy and Dave O’Rourke has regrets about how he
dealt with his things, as Aoife is his type. Picture: Maura Hickey

AOIFE MCKENNA

DAVE O’ROURKE

Has there been any contact since the date?
Yes, we were texting after the date.

Has there been any contact since the date?
Yes, we were texting straight after the date
and the days after.

Did you meet up again?
I was out with my friend on a Saturday
night and Dave invited me to his brother’s
30th party in Ballsbridge.
In hindsight, I shouldn’t have gone. He was
busy with his family and I was there with my
friend. It wasn’t really a second date. I was
talking to his friends for most of the night.
We had lost the chemistry by the second
date and I didn’t see much point in contacting him again. At this stage I’m only interested in being friends with Dave.
What did you learn from the experience?
It gave me the push I needed to make an
effort to put myself back out there. It gave
me a boost in confidence that I needed. It
has given me a ‘no fear’ attitude — if I can
go on a blind date with a complete stranger I
can do anything. In the couple of weeks
since the date, I’ve actually met someone else
that I’m really attracted to and there is loads
of chemistry. We are going on our second
date this week. Watch this space.

FRIDAY, MARCH 9, 2012

Did you meet up again?
We were really busy with work after our
blind date so we found it difficult to arrange
a second date. My brother’s 30th birthday
was in Ballsbridge about two weeks after and
I knew Aoife was out on the town with her
friend, so at the last minute I invited her to
the party, as I wanted to see her again. However, on the night I was busy with family and
friends and I got the feeling she wasn’t that
into it. She left shortly afterwards and I just
put it down to that she wasn’t interested in
me.
What did you learn from the experience?
I haven’t been in touch with Aoife as the
whole experience showed me that I need to
shake off a past relationship before I can
make the next step into a new one.
Aoife would definitely be my type, but I
was so preoccupied I didn’t really give her
the priority she needed. In hindsight, I regret
this.

You can still see when the couples met for the first time at:
http://exa.mn/36

Did you meet up again?
It took a bit of planning but we eventually
arranged a second date. However, it was nearly
three weeks from the first blind date. We went
for lunch this time at Bramley Lodge, near Carrigtohill. It was a little bit too long from the first
date and we had to get to know each other
again. But, Jayne can talk and that was great as
I’m little bit shyer.
What did you learn from the experience?
Jayne is really attractive and I’d love there to be
a third date. This whole experience has been
great. It shows you just when you leave yourself
go what can happen. Since the article was pub-

lished everyone has been trying to set me up
with dates. I was even selling calves to a Kerryman last week who had seen me in Feelgood and
he vowed to find me a match. However, I think
I’ve found a match in Jayne right now and looking forward to the third date.
JAYNE O’CONNOR
Has there been any contact since the date?
Yes, we have been texting regularly since our
date.
Did you meet up again?
We met for lunch last week — we finally managed to coordinate our schedules.
What did you learn from the experience?
I learned that dating is lots of fun but you must
be open to new experiences and you have to put
yourself out there. They don’t come knocking
on the door. As with myself and Mícheál, I’m
looking forward to the third date.

KATRINA O’ BRIEN
Did you meet up again?
No, no interest in seeing him again.
Has there been any contact since the
date?
No
What did you learn from the
experience?
I now know what type of guy that I
like and what type I don’t like. Actually,
the blind date experience made me
relook at another guy that I wasn’t interested in at first. I now know that this
man is more my type. In fact, after a
couple of dates, he is ticking all my
boxes.
BRIAN O’NEILL
Did you meet up again?
No.

Date 3:

Has there been any contact since the date?
No
What did you learn from the experience?
It’s always nice to meet new people. I just learned that
sometimes, people can be different. Sometimes, you get

Feelgood

DIDN’T CLICK: There was no
connection between Katrina O'Brien
and Brian O'Neill Picture: Maura Hickey

on and sometimes you don’t. I also learned that when
opinions collide it’s often better to drop it than push it.
I’m not anxious about meeting my match. But, I’d
prefer to let it happen naturally. In fact, I’ve just asked
a girl out within my own group of friends. The date is
next week.

FRIDAY, MARCH 9, 2012

Katrina and Brian did not click. However, this is a case of not
throwing in the towel after one date that did not go as
planned. The more they date, the closer they’ll get to what
they want.
The only way to improve your odds is to get up, dust yourself off, and get back out there again. The best time to re-evaluate your needs is right after a failed situation.
For anyone thinking about going on a date, it’s important to
remember that it doesn’t have to be a daunting undertaking.
What do all the six singles have in common? Instead of sitting at home alone and dateless, they got out there. They all
went into unknown situations and all agreed it was a fun new
experience.
Realise that you have the power to change your dating life.
Sometimes, you just need to change your perspective and
take advantage of every opportunity to get the relationship
that you really want.

Sugar may be sweet, but is it making us
sickly? Lisa Salmon investigates

I

F you take sugar with your tea or
put it on breakfast cereal, think twice
— you may be ingesting a poison. A
new report claims sugar is a toxin and
not just because of those empty calories
that cause weight gain.
Scientists from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), who
took a new look at the mounting scientific evidence on sugar, say that at the
levels consumed by most
people, sugar can change
metabolic rates, raise
blood pressure, critically
alter the signalling of
hormones and causes
significant damage to
your liver.
These health hazards
mirror the effects of drinking too much alcohol (distilled sugar), and the scientists suggest that measures
used to reduce alcohol and
tobacco consumption, such
as taxation and controlled
access, might be useful in
helping to reduce sugar
consumption too.
“As long as the public
thinks that sugar is just
’empty calories’, we have
no chance in solving this,”
warns the report’s lead author Dr
Robert Lustig, a UCSF childhood
obesity expert.
Sugar is a carbohydrate that’s found
naturally in most foods, but is also
added to many foods, such as sweets,
cakes and some fizzy and juice drinks.
Sugar is viewed by some as a key
cause of the obesity pandemic, contributing to 35 million deaths annually
from non-communicable diseases such
as diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
But it’s not just the obese who may
be at risk from sugar’s toxicity, says Dr
Lustig, pointing out that normal weight
people could benefit from sugar reduction as well.
He insists that while there are good
calories and bad calories, good fats and
bad fats, “sugar is toxic beyond its
calories” when it’s consumed to excess
and that virtually every country in the
world, including Ireland, is now over
the “toxic threshold”.
The National Adult Nutritional Survey in 2011, found that 26% of Irish
men and 21% of Irish women are now
obese. Yet changing eating habits is not
going to be easy, experts admit.
Study
co-author
Laura
Schmidt, a
professor of
health policy at
UCSF,
stresses:
“We’re not
talking
prohibition, we’re
not advocating a major imposition of the Government into people’s lives. We’re talking about gentle ways to make sugar
consumption slightly less convenient,
thereby moving people away from the
concentrated dose.
“What we want is to actually increase

Feelgood

Blind date: Final week
Relationships coach Avril Mulcahy

people’s choices by making foods that
aren’t loaded with sugar comparatively
easier and cheaper to get.”
Lustig and his co-authors also say that
policies similar to those used to reduce
alcohol and tobacco consumption, such
as taxation and controlled access, plus
tightening licensing requirements on
vending machines and snack bars that
sell high-sugar products in schools and
workplaces, could help reduce
sugar consumption.
Dr Amelia Lake, a dietician
and public health nutritionist,
points out that picking up food
or drink that’s laden with sugar
in a shop is much easier than
buying something healthier.
“Sugar and sugary foods are
always going to be part of the
diet, but should be a much
smaller proportion of it,” she
says.
“It would be difficult to exclude them, and we wouldn’t
want to do that, but it’s all
about proportion. If these
sugary products are in your
face all the time, it’s hard to
resist.”
She says people need to
read food labels to see how
much added sugar there is in
a product: more than 15g per 100g
is classed as high sugar, while 5g or less
per 100g is low sugar.
“It’s like salt – we’re all tuned in to
think that less salt’s better, and we
should think about added sugar in the
same way.
HOW TO
CUT
DOWN:
For a
healthy
balanced
diet, many
of us need
to cut
down on
food and
drink
containing
added sugar.
■ Instead of sugary fizzy drinks and
juices, try water or unsweetened fruit
juice.
■ Dilute fruit juice for children to further reduce sugar.
■ For fizzy drinks, dilute fruit juice
with sparkling water.
■ Swap cakes or biscuits for a currant
bun, scone or malt loaf.
■ If you take sugar in hot drinks, or
add sugar to breakfast cereal, gradually
reduce the amount until you cut it out
completely.
■ Instead of jam or sugary preserves on
toast, try sliced banana or low-fat cream
cheese.
■ Check labels to pick foods with less
added sugar, or go for low-sugar varieties.
■ Try halving the sugar used in recipes
— it works for most things except jam,
meringues and ice cream.
■ Choose tins of fruit in juice rather
than syrup.
■ Choose wholegrain breakfast cereals,
but not those coated with sugar or
honey.

5

XH - V2

asks our couples about life after their blind dates

Kiss ’n’ tell...

AVRIL’S
VIEW
Aoife and Dave — busy schedules
and past relationships seem to have
got in the way of our first couple and
they threw in the towel early on. All
the signs were good — a great first
date and two well matched singles.
However, the decision to meet for
their second encounter at a family
gathering was a case of wrong place
and wrong time. Both are fun characters but there wasn’t
enough chemistry to drive them on to a more committed arrangement.
Mícheál and Jayne are our success story of the blind date
series. Mícheál is a gem and this couple has huge potential.
But they need to recognise this. Women put a lot of energy into dreaming of the perfect guy, but not enough into envisioning the relationship they want. If they work on it together they
could have a relationship that will last.

Date 2:

STILL INTERESTED: Jayne O'Connor who is from Tipperary and
Mícheál McGrath, from East Cork, live at a distance from each other
but are still keen to continue meeting up.
Picture: Dan Linehan

MÍCHEÁL MCGRATH
Has there been any contact since the date?
Yes, there were many texts going over and
back. But it was difficult to arrange a meeting.
I’m in the middle of the busy farming season and
Jayne is commuting from Tipp.

Date 1:

MOVING ON: Aoife McKenna has started going out with
another guy and Dave O’Rourke has regrets about how he
dealt with his things, as Aoife is his type. Picture: Maura Hickey

AOIFE MCKENNA

DAVE O’ROURKE

Has there been any contact since the date?
Yes, we were texting after the date.

Has there been any contact since the date?
Yes, we were texting straight after the date
and the days after.

Did you meet up again?
I was out with my friend on a Saturday
night and Dave invited me to his brother’s
30th party in Ballsbridge.
In hindsight, I shouldn’t have gone. He was
busy with his family and I was there with my
friend. It wasn’t really a second date. I was
talking to his friends for most of the night.
We had lost the chemistry by the second
date and I didn’t see much point in contacting him again. At this stage I’m only interested in being friends with Dave.
What did you learn from the experience?
It gave me the push I needed to make an
effort to put myself back out there. It gave
me a boost in confidence that I needed. It
has given me a ‘no fear’ attitude — if I can
go on a blind date with a complete stranger I
can do anything. In the couple of weeks
since the date, I’ve actually met someone else
that I’m really attracted to and there is loads
of chemistry. We are going on our second
date this week. Watch this space.

FRIDAY, MARCH 9, 2012

Did you meet up again?
We were really busy with work after our
blind date so we found it difficult to arrange
a second date. My brother’s 30th birthday
was in Ballsbridge about two weeks after and
I knew Aoife was out on the town with her
friend, so at the last minute I invited her to
the party, as I wanted to see her again. However, on the night I was busy with family and
friends and I got the feeling she wasn’t that
into it. She left shortly afterwards and I just
put it down to that she wasn’t interested in
me.
What did you learn from the experience?
I haven’t been in touch with Aoife as the
whole experience showed me that I need to
shake off a past relationship before I can
make the next step into a new one.
Aoife would definitely be my type, but I
was so preoccupied I didn’t really give her
the priority she needed. In hindsight, I regret
this.

You can still see when the couples met for the first time at:
http://exa.mn/36

Did you meet up again?
It took a bit of planning but we eventually
arranged a second date. However, it was nearly
three weeks from the first blind date. We went
for lunch this time at Bramley Lodge, near Carrigtohill. It was a little bit too long from the first
date and we had to get to know each other
again. But, Jayne can talk and that was great as
I’m little bit shyer.
What did you learn from the experience?
Jayne is really attractive and I’d love there to be
a third date. This whole experience has been
great. It shows you just when you leave yourself
go what can happen. Since the article was pub-

lished everyone has been trying to set me up
with dates. I was even selling calves to a Kerryman last week who had seen me in Feelgood and
he vowed to find me a match. However, I think
I’ve found a match in Jayne right now and looking forward to the third date.
JAYNE O’CONNOR
Has there been any contact since the date?
Yes, we have been texting regularly since our
date.
Did you meet up again?
We met for lunch last week — we finally managed to coordinate our schedules.
What did you learn from the experience?
I learned that dating is lots of fun but you must
be open to new experiences and you have to put
yourself out there. They don’t come knocking
on the door. As with myself and Mícheál, I’m
looking forward to the third date.

KATRINA O’ BRIEN
Did you meet up again?
No, no interest in seeing him again.
Has there been any contact since the
date?
No
What did you learn from the
experience?
I now know what type of guy that I
like and what type I don’t like. Actually,
the blind date experience made me
relook at another guy that I wasn’t interested in at first. I now know that this
man is more my type. In fact, after a
couple of dates, he is ticking all my
boxes.
BRIAN O’NEILL
Did you meet up again?
No.

Date 3:

Has there been any contact since the date?
No
What did you learn from the experience?
It’s always nice to meet new people. I just learned that
sometimes, people can be different. Sometimes, you get

Feelgood

DIDN’T CLICK: There was no
connection between Katrina O'Brien
and Brian O'Neill Picture: Maura Hickey

on and sometimes you don’t. I also learned that when
opinions collide it’s often better to drop it than push it.
I’m not anxious about meeting my match. But, I’d
prefer to let it happen naturally. In fact, I’ve just asked
a girl out within my own group of friends. The date is
next week.

FRIDAY, MARCH 9, 2012

Katrina and Brian did not click. However, this is a case of not
throwing in the towel after one date that did not go as
planned. The more they date, the closer they’ll get to what
they want.
The only way to improve your odds is to get up, dust yourself off, and get back out there again. The best time to re-evaluate your needs is right after a failed situation.
For anyone thinking about going on a date, it’s important to
remember that it doesn’t have to be a daunting undertaking.
What do all the six singles have in common? Instead of sitting at home alone and dateless, they got out there. They all
went into unknown situations and all agreed it was a fun new
experience.
Realise that you have the power to change your dating life.
Sometimes, you just need to change your perspective and
take advantage of every opportunity to get the relationship
that you really want.

Cranial Course
Commencing Sat 31st Mar 2012
For more info contact us on

021 4309861

or email: info@iiptcork.com

TOMORROW IN

Weekend

Plus we pay tribute to the one and only Madonna
ahead of her world tour. WORTH THE QUEUE
Design house Marni launches an affordable line with
H&M.

P

Feelgood

Blarney Street, Cork
www.iiptcork.com

WORTH THE QUEUE
Design house Marni launches an affordable line with
H&M.

Tony Humphreys

SYCHOLOGY touches every aspect of human
behaviour — the social, educational, economic,
political, philosophical, scientific and religious.
We are psychological beings and we operate from individual, interior worlds creatively constructed in response to the
outside worlds of family, community, society, nationality and
internationality.
Acknowledgement that words and actions arise from each
person’s interior world and that responsibility lies with the
individual is a pill that is difficult to swallow in a culture
where judgement and criticism are more common than
compassion and understanding.
My spiritual mentor, the late John O’Donohue, says it so
well: ‘The process of self-discovery is not easy; it may involve suffering, doubt, discovery. But we must not shrink
from the fullness of our being in order to reduce the pain.’
Self-realisation leads to accountability and responsibility
for self and all our actions. When these qualities of maturity
are not present, then what exists are threats to personal, interpersonal and societal well-being. Nevertheless, these
threats are a cry from our true nature for resolution of what
hides our fullness.
Our country and most of the Western world are struggling with a major economic recession. Ireland is doing well
in terms of fiscal rectitude, but I still have grave concerns
about the emotional and social rectitude that is required but
not yet emerging. I believe one of the ways to stimulate
emotional-social-economic prosperity is through tourism.
We have an amazingly beautiful island, and given that hotel, restaurant and other tourist costs have considerably reduced, there is a great possibility of increasing tourism from
both within and without the country. One of the blights on
our landscape that may militate against the economic recovery is litter. I have been very conscious over the last number
of months of the rubbish strewn along the sides of the M8
from the Dunkettle, Cork roundabout to Fermoy, particularly, the first two or three miles.
Cork city has been hailed as a ‘must see’ city and it would
be a pity for that image to be tarnished by the trail of litter
to the main entry and departure routes from the city. Incidentally, the littering of our roadways is widespread and few
byroads escape the discarded empty cans, wrappers and
household waste, including pieces of furniture and electrical
items.
There may be many psychological reasons why individuals
dump their litter from their cars. Possibilities are that they
have been psychologically ‘rubbished’ or ‘dumped upon’ or
that in their inner relationship with themselves they ‘rubbish’ themselves and allow others ‘to dump’ their problems
on them.
When such psychological issues exist, what tends to happen is an unwitting re-enactment, in a behavioural way, of
these relationship issues in the hope that somebody will detect the personal and interpersonal suffering of the individuals who are ‘dumping their rubbish’ on the countryside.
Of course, there may also be social issues underpinning
why people litter — such as poverty and unemployment or

The Irish Institute of
Physical Therapy

DOWN IN THE DUMPS: Littering reflects poor self-image,
individually and collectively.
the injustice of being landed with the banks’ debts.
Whatever the causes are, there is a need to create an ethos
where it’s ‘cool to keep Cork clean’ or ‘cool to keep Ireland
clean’.
Interestingly, when I travel long distances in poverty-stricken South Africa, I do not come across one potato crisp bag or
soft drinks plastic bottle on roadsides. Somehow, a pride in
the beauty of the country has been evoked in South Africa.
In Ireland, we led the world in creating an ethos where
smoking in public places became taboo and, similarly, with
the drink-driving campaign, responsible alcohol consumption
is slowly, but surely, emerging. We now need to put our creative heads together to create an ethos among all Irish national and foreign nationals, to take pride in our beautiful island,
while at the same time finding a way to acknowledge the
hurts, doubts, grievances and injustices that can be the sources
of littering.
Ultimately, it is about each of us seeing the beauty of our
own unique and unrepeatable nature but, as noted, that can
be a long journey of self-discovery.
Fines certainly act as a deterrent but, somehow, ‘Cleaner
Ireland’ campaigns need to appeal to our finer nature. Education, in terms of civic pride and responsibility, is important, as
is modelling by adults for children of maintenance of the
beauty of our landscape.
Competitions in schools for creative ways to be ‘litter free’
could stimulate motivation and rewarding of ideas could accelerate the process of a cleaner Ireland.
Some companies and communities have ‘adopted a road’
and arrange for regular clean-ups — an initiative that can be
multiplied nationally.
Whatever it takes — let us continue to find ways to have an
eye-pleasing rather than an eye-sore environment.
● Dr Tony Humphreys is a clinical psychologist, author, national and international speaker. His bookLeadership with Consciousness is relevant to this article.

FRIDAY, MARCH 9, 2012

We interview Christina Hendricks
ahead of the return of Mad Men.
Plus, Annmarie O’Connor
shows us how to get
the Mad Men look.

What’s not to like?
With travel, food, fashion,
beauty, TV guide and more.

We all want the best for
beloved members of our
family in need of support
and care. While sometimes
full-time care in a nursing
home is the only option,
our preference is a helping
hand to ensure the person
in need of care can stay in
the place they know and
love best, with all their familiar things around them.
Brookfield Home Care
Services is here to help,
providing care when it’s
needed most.
Building on Success.
With a track record as an
experienced and recognised
Care Provider based in an
established state of the art
clinical facility, Brookfield
Care Services near Carrigtwohill has already built up
a deserved reputation for
responsive, person centred, quality care provision
through its nursing home
service. With both General
Care Units and a separate
specialised Alzheimer Care
Unit, it demonstrates a
commitment to high standards as evidenced by
statutory inspection
reports spanning an
eight year period.
Small wonder that it
is held in such high
regard by residents,
families and medical
professionals alike.
Extending to the
community with
Brookfield Home
Care Services, the
same high standards
can be brought directly to
your own home. This new
subsidiary offers a muchneeded solution to people
and families within the
North and East Cork area
who are in need of tailored

A helping hand.
home care services, including disability and dementia
support. It’s a service that
will benefit the existing
carer just as much as the
individual being cared for.
The transition to long
term care if the need arises
is a major life event. The
link between the home
care and residential care
service can ease this transition for the individual and

Promoting Wellbeing
and Positive Ageing.
The mission of Brookfield Home Care Service is
to promote wellbeing, respect and individuality, enabling people to live a life
rich in choice, dignity and
independence in the comfort of their own homes.
The service is in a unique
position in that it
operates from an already established and
successful clinical
base. All training of
staff and supervised
practical competency
development will be
completed within
the care centre prior
to employees being
sent out to people’s
homes. Alongside
the commitment to
FETAC level 5 completion,
Brookfield also provides
its own rigorous training
programme.
Those in the community
to which Brookfield Home
Care Services are particu-

“Hig t n r s
ru
re ly
t
r w hm”
family members. A greater
understanding of the individual’s needs and ensuring
continuity of care between
home place and nursing home placement will
minimise anxiety and build
upon existing relationships.

������

Caring staff, proud of what they do.

Exemplary care in the comfort of your own home.
larly relevant are older and
younger people needing
home support due to
• Dementia and related
conditions
• Post-operative respite or
convalescent care needs
• Physical disabilities

��������������

• Palliative care.
• People with sensory loss.

��������

��������

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��������

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���������

Feelgood

������������

• Those with learning
disabilities

�������

Brookfield
Homecare
Services
catchment
area

• Primary carers
The People behind
the Service.
The manager of Brookfield Home Care Service is Daragh McGlynn.
Daragh, a native of Dublin,
holds a business degree
and has extensive experience from the U.K.within

FRIDAY, MARCH 9, 2012

residential and dementia
care services. Brookfield
is a family run business
and is the culmination of
many years of commitment to quality health care
provision. Directors are
Clodagh Drennan Bohane
and Sean Bohane. Clodagh
is a registered nurse with
experience at a senior level
in acute, palliative, elderly and dementia specific
care services. She holds a
masters degree in Health
Care Management. Sean’s
background has been primarily media and hospitality industries. He has spent
in excess of twenty two
years interacting with the
public and brings with him
a broad range of business
experience.
Daragh, Clodagh and
Sean are passionate about
the service they provide
and their shared goal is at
all times to place the needs
of the client at the forefront of service development.

Q&A

What is it that makes
Brookfield Home Care
Service so special? We
asked manager, Daragh
McGlynn.
“The level of training and the practical
skills
development
programme we provide gives us an unrivalled confidence in
the competence, and
capabilities of our
staff,” he replies instantly. “Investing in
the personal development of our carers is a
priority. At Brookfield,
we have the best facilities, the training, and a
strong clinical grounding. Our staff love their
work and are proud of
what they do. We are
a local organisation,
with a local reputation
for exceptional standards. We’re caring,
personal, experienced,
and on the spot. It’s
that personal approach
that has made Brookfield the success it is
to date. Now, with
the new Home Care
Services, we offer care
and support to an even
larger client base”
For further information
contact
homecareservices@brookfieldcc.ie
or contact
Daragh McGlynn,
Home Care Services
Manager, on
021 464 2112.
Find us on Facebook

The lifestyle decision to have an elective C-section can raise eyebrows. Journalist Naoise Coogan explains why she has opted FOR
to take this route for both her pregnancies and she talks to two medical consultants with opposing views on the subject

IT’S
MY
CHOICE
I
F a woman wants breast implants, a nose
job, Botox or a facelift, her peers do not
flinch. However, tell them that she wants
an elective C-section and wait for the tirade of
comments and gasps of surprise.
It is much more acceptable for a woman to
say that she gave birth without any pain relief,
or at home by the fire or even in a birthing
pool than it is to say that she has chosen to
have a section. However, there are lots of
women who take this route but who probably
keep it to themselves.
Too posh to push? I laugh at this pointed argument and say no, but I do believe in having
a choice about how I give birth and I choose
to plan it like I plan other important activities
in my life.
At 37 weeks pregnant, I am due to have my
second elective section in 12 days. I know my
baby is coming out on Mar 21 sometime in
the morning and I know that the procedure
will take the best part of an hour. I had a
planned C-section with my first child and had
a most pleasant experience and so this time
around I am not changing my birth plan.
My first baby Siofra is now four-years-old.
When she arrived into the world on Feb 7,
2008 she was simply perfect. She was plucked
from my womb by a team of experts and my
trustworthy obstetrician with no complications. I was taken to the operating theatre at
9am, prepped and given an epidural. My husband John was then allowed to come in to be
by my side while the procedure was taking
place.
Siofra was born 28 minutes after I arrived
into the theatre. There was no panic, no tears,
no screaming in pain and no drama. It was a
quiet, calm and exhilarating experience. My
baby was not distressed, she had not spent
hours trying to battle her way out of a narrow
birth canal and most importantly she was
perfectly healthy.
I was ecstatic, as was my husband who was
sitting by my side for the whole experience as
calm as I was and happy that we were both
happy and healthy.
The bonus of a section for dads is that they
then get to bond with the baby minutes after
the delivery because although I got to hold her
immediately, she was then taken and cleaned
and examined before being handed to my
husband who had 20 minutes with her on his
own as he waited for me to return to the
room.
Of course, I was numb from the epidural
from the waist down for some hours after the
birth which is what any woman who gives
birth vaginally will also experience if they too
choose to go with this form of pain relief. I
was on morphine for the day as a pain killer
— and it worked. The nurses took the baby
for the first night and returned her to me early
the next morning. I was rested and, although
stiff, still well able to lift the baby and feed her.
Later, I was encouraged to get up and walk
around and this was not too painful. I was on
suppository pain killers for the next couple of
days until I was discharged four days later. By
then, I was up and about and feeling very
confident and capable.
At home, we got on with the job. I was able

Feelgood

Siofra was born
28 minutes after I
arrived
into theatre. I was
ecstatic, as was
my husband who
was sitting by my
side for the whole
experience as
calm as I was and
happy that we
were both happy
and healthy

HAPPY TIMES: Naoise, Siofra and John Coogan on a family day out. Naoise’s doctor has agreed to tie her tubes while undergoing her second
C-section in 12 days’ time.
Picture: Dylan Vaughan

MOTHER AND CHILD: Naoise is delighted with the calm and controlled birth of her first child,
Siofra, by elected caesarean section.
Picture:Dylan Vaughan.
to negotiate our spiral staircase, do light housework and, more importantly, care for our baby
girl. I was driving after a few weeks.
I was lucky to make such a quick recovery
but I feel this is because there was no

traumatic labour and no emergency surgery.
The procedure was so well planned that it
didn’t pose any problems for me or for the
surgeons. In my view, there is nothing natural
about suffering days of labour with the possi-

bility that you may end up exhausted and having an emergency C-section at the end of the
ordeal. Of course this is not the case for most
women, and you will no doubt have read news
stories where women have had their babies so
quickly they didn’t even make it to the hospital and ended up having them at the side of
the road. However, I chose to avoid both of
these scenarios.
I knew before I ever became pregnant that
‘pushing’ was not for me. You can say I was
too posh to push — I have heard it all — but
the experience I had giving birth was worth all
the jeering and disapproving glances. I wanted
to be a mum but the thought of giving birth
petrified me. I wanted the least intrusive experience possible and I knew that in order to get
through the following eight or nine months, I
was going to need to sort out my ‘birth plan’
well in advance.
Women have told me that vaginal childbirth
is ‘a gorgeous experience’ and something that
‘they really wanted to feel and experience’. I
understand that this is the case for many
women, but it is not for me. I was born
vaginally and my mother admits there is
nothing romantic about the experience. In
fact, I was breach and they still delivered me
vaginally, three weeks early and not in a very
calm environment. My mother is very supportive of my decision to opt for a section and
I can understand why.

The bottom line is that women should have
a right to choose how they give birth.
We are living in the 21st century. Everything has changed in the last three decades. It
is not unlikely that the way in which we give
birth will also change. Like in every other
walk of life, women should have a choice to
have an elective section whether they are private or public patients.
I believe this is the way things will be in the
future, and I hope that this will make the decision to become pregnant a happy one for
many women who have an innate fear of
childbirth.
As for the future, this will indeed be my last
elective C-section as my doctor has agreed to
tie my tubes while on the operating table this
time around. As I only have one ovary and
one tube (I lost one of each during an
emergency operation some 10 years ago) it
will be a clamping procedure. At 38, I feel
that my childbearing years are now well and
truly behind me. I feel lucky to have one
healthy child and another baby on the way.
I look forward to my next birth with trepidation and a little nervous apprehension —
just like any other woman who is planning to
give birth in the foreseeable future. But also
happy in the knowledge that it will go
according to my birth plan I encourage other
women not to be afraid to take control of
how they would like to give birth.

FRIDAY, MARCH 9, 2012

The statistics
■ 72,675 women gave birth in acute
public hospitals reporting to HIPE in
2010.
■ Normal (non-instrumental) deliveries accounted for almost six in every
ten deliveries, followed by caesarean section at 26%. Instrumental deliveries accounted for the remainder.
■ Almost 24% of women who delivered and who were treated on a
public basis had a caesarean section — 44% were elective, which includes sections recommended by
consultants for medical reasons.
■ Almost 35% of women who delivered and who were treated on a private basis had a caesarean section
— 60% were elective, including sections for medical reasons.
● From the Economic & Social Research Institute on activity in Acute
Public Hospitals in Ireland, 2010 Annual Report

R Ray O’Sullivan, who is my
gynacologist and carried out my
first C-section, believes women
should be informed about the risks of
vaginal births and caesarean procedures.
With an expertise in urogynaecology
— his main area of interest is the area of
pelvic floor, (prolapse and incontinence)
— Mr O’Sullivan says he has seen a lot of
damage following vaginal births.
“I have a day of surgery this week and
all of my clients are in for prolapsed
wombs and bladders,” he says.
“This occurs as
a direct result of
vaginal childbirth
and unfortunately women are
not made aware
of these very serious consequences. Other
difficulties following vaginal
births include
urinary incontinence and anal
incontinence,
from which
many women
suffer following
childbirth, but
they are not educated about this
prior to giving
birth.
“I believe that
women should be given all the facts before they decide how they would like
their birth to go and then let them make
an informed decision about what is best
for them. We should be honest on all
fronts and not make women feel bad
about what is a very safe option for giving birth,” he says.
So is one option safer than the other?
“An uncomplicated vaginal birth is as
safe as an elective planned section for
mother and baby. With a section you
have the risk of blood clots in the lungs
and legs, but on balance when you consider the complications that can be associated with a vaginal delivery, they are both
as safe as each other.
“We as obstetricians are about creating
families and getting mothers and babies
home safely. When things go wrong with
a vaginal delivery they can go very
wrong. When you have to use forceps or
vacuum to deliver, or if there is shoulder
dystocia and the oxygen levels or heart
rate of the baby is dropping, the labour
ward can be a very lonely place. These
problems simply don’t occur with a
planned C-section,” he points out.

“I have a
day of
surgery
this week
and all of
my
clients
are in for
prolapsed
wombs
and
bladders

R Declan Keane who is a member
of the executive of the Institute of
Obstetrics and Gynaecology, says
he could count on one hand the number
of women who would elect for a planned
C-section birth without medical reasons.
“The ethos at the hospital is that we
would not be encouraging women to opt
for a C-section unless there are medical
reasons for the procedure. In fact, we
would do our utmost to countenance
against it,” he
says.
“I know other
hospitals might
not feel this way,
and maybe part
of the reason
why we don’t
have so many
women seeking
elective sections
for non-medical
reasons is that
they shop
around for hospitals that are
more open to
offering them.
“At the National Maternity
Hospital, we
might see a
dozen women
actually seeking
a C-section for
non-medical
reasons, out of
nine to 10,000 births a year. But in
Dublin alone there are four maternity
hospitals and I know for sure that some of
the others would probably offer elective
sections quicker than we might,” he says.
There are many reasons for not promoting the surgical route for childbirth
and some are medical, he points out.
“For example, after a section there is
increased risk of the placenta adhering to
the uterine wall, mothers are more likely
to bleed from the wound, and there is increased risk of infection in this area.
There is also a longer post-op recovery
time.
“On a practical note, increased C-section deliveries will see theatre lists increase, the workload of gynaecology will
be decreased, there will be more congestion on post-natal wards and longer hospital stays for mothers. Of course, this in
turn will lead to higher costs, and at this
time we are trying to cut costs by dealing
with many less serious surgeries as day
cases as medical costs spiral with the
length of stay required in hospitals.
“We would not be encouraging elective
C-sections for non-medical reasons, and
if a woman has a fear of childbirth we
would always attempt to inform her
about the reality, which is that pain relief
is readily available — 24 hours a day —
in the hospitals in Dublin. And if women
are not choosing vaginal deliveries because of fear, it is an indictment on our
health system.”

“There is
increased
risk of the
placenta
adhering
to the
uterine
wall
and an
increased
risk of
infection

The lifestyle decision to have an elective C-section can raise eyebrows. Journalist Naoise Coogan explains why she has opted FOR
to take this route for both her pregnancies and she talks to two medical consultants with opposing views on the subject

IT’S
MY
CHOICE
I
F a woman wants breast implants, a nose
job, Botox or a facelift, her peers do not
flinch. However, tell them that she wants
an elective C-section and wait for the tirade of
comments and gasps of surprise.
It is much more acceptable for a woman to
say that she gave birth without any pain relief,
or at home by the fire or even in a birthing
pool than it is to say that she has chosen to
have a section. However, there are lots of
women who take this route but who probably
keep it to themselves.
Too posh to push? I laugh at this pointed argument and say no, but I do believe in having
a choice about how I give birth and I choose
to plan it like I plan other important activities
in my life.
At 37 weeks pregnant, I am due to have my
second elective section in 12 days. I know my
baby is coming out on Mar 21 sometime in
the morning and I know that the procedure
will take the best part of an hour. I had a
planned C-section with my first child and had
a most pleasant experience and so this time
around I am not changing my birth plan.
My first baby Siofra is now four-years-old.
When she arrived into the world on Feb 7,
2008 she was simply perfect. She was plucked
from my womb by a team of experts and my
trustworthy obstetrician with no complications. I was taken to the operating theatre at
9am, prepped and given an epidural. My husband John was then allowed to come in to be
by my side while the procedure was taking
place.
Siofra was born 28 minutes after I arrived
into the theatre. There was no panic, no tears,
no screaming in pain and no drama. It was a
quiet, calm and exhilarating experience. My
baby was not distressed, she had not spent
hours trying to battle her way out of a narrow
birth canal and most importantly she was
perfectly healthy.
I was ecstatic, as was my husband who was
sitting by my side for the whole experience as
calm as I was and happy that we were both
happy and healthy.
The bonus of a section for dads is that they
then get to bond with the baby minutes after
the delivery because although I got to hold her
immediately, she was then taken and cleaned
and examined before being handed to my
husband who had 20 minutes with her on his
own as he waited for me to return to the
room.
Of course, I was numb from the epidural
from the waist down for some hours after the
birth which is what any woman who gives
birth vaginally will also experience if they too
choose to go with this form of pain relief. I
was on morphine for the day as a pain killer
— and it worked. The nurses took the baby
for the first night and returned her to me early
the next morning. I was rested and, although
stiff, still well able to lift the baby and feed her.
Later, I was encouraged to get up and walk
around and this was not too painful. I was on
suppository pain killers for the next couple of
days until I was discharged four days later. By
then, I was up and about and feeling very
confident and capable.
At home, we got on with the job. I was able

Feelgood

Siofra was born
28 minutes after I
arrived
into theatre. I was
ecstatic, as was
my husband who
was sitting by my
side for the whole
experience as
calm as I was and
happy that we
were both happy
and healthy

HAPPY TIMES: Naoise, Siofra and John Coogan on a family day out. Naoise’s doctor has agreed to tie her tubes while undergoing her second
C-section in 12 days’ time.
Picture: Dylan Vaughan

MOTHER AND CHILD: Naoise is delighted with the calm and controlled birth of her first child,
Siofra, by elected caesarean section.
Picture:Dylan Vaughan.
to negotiate our spiral staircase, do light housework and, more importantly, care for our baby
girl. I was driving after a few weeks.
I was lucky to make such a quick recovery
but I feel this is because there was no

traumatic labour and no emergency surgery.
The procedure was so well planned that it
didn’t pose any problems for me or for the
surgeons. In my view, there is nothing natural
about suffering days of labour with the possi-

bility that you may end up exhausted and having an emergency C-section at the end of the
ordeal. Of course this is not the case for most
women, and you will no doubt have read news
stories where women have had their babies so
quickly they didn’t even make it to the hospital and ended up having them at the side of
the road. However, I chose to avoid both of
these scenarios.
I knew before I ever became pregnant that
‘pushing’ was not for me. You can say I was
too posh to push — I have heard it all — but
the experience I had giving birth was worth all
the jeering and disapproving glances. I wanted
to be a mum but the thought of giving birth
petrified me. I wanted the least intrusive experience possible and I knew that in order to get
through the following eight or nine months, I
was going to need to sort out my ‘birth plan’
well in advance.
Women have told me that vaginal childbirth
is ‘a gorgeous experience’ and something that
‘they really wanted to feel and experience’. I
understand that this is the case for many
women, but it is not for me. I was born
vaginally and my mother admits there is
nothing romantic about the experience. In
fact, I was breach and they still delivered me
vaginally, three weeks early and not in a very
calm environment. My mother is very supportive of my decision to opt for a section and
I can understand why.

The bottom line is that women should have
a right to choose how they give birth.
We are living in the 21st century. Everything has changed in the last three decades. It
is not unlikely that the way in which we give
birth will also change. Like in every other
walk of life, women should have a choice to
have an elective section whether they are private or public patients.
I believe this is the way things will be in the
future, and I hope that this will make the decision to become pregnant a happy one for
many women who have an innate fear of
childbirth.
As for the future, this will indeed be my last
elective C-section as my doctor has agreed to
tie my tubes while on the operating table this
time around. As I only have one ovary and
one tube (I lost one of each during an
emergency operation some 10 years ago) it
will be a clamping procedure. At 38, I feel
that my childbearing years are now well and
truly behind me. I feel lucky to have one
healthy child and another baby on the way.
I look forward to my next birth with trepidation and a little nervous apprehension —
just like any other woman who is planning to
give birth in the foreseeable future. But also
happy in the knowledge that it will go
according to my birth plan I encourage other
women not to be afraid to take control of
how they would like to give birth.

FRIDAY, MARCH 9, 2012

The statistics
■ 72,675 women gave birth in acute
public hospitals reporting to HIPE in
2010.
■ Normal (non-instrumental) deliveries accounted for almost six in every
ten deliveries, followed by caesarean section at 26%. Instrumental deliveries accounted for the remainder.
■ Almost 24% of women who delivered and who were treated on a
public basis had a caesarean section — 44% were elective, which includes sections recommended by
consultants for medical reasons.
■ Almost 35% of women who delivered and who were treated on a private basis had a caesarean section
— 60% were elective, including sections for medical reasons.
● From the Economic & Social Research Institute on activity in Acute
Public Hospitals in Ireland, 2010 Annual Report

R Ray O’Sullivan, who is my
gynacologist and carried out my
first C-section, believes women
should be informed about the risks of
vaginal births and caesarean procedures.
With an expertise in urogynaecology
— his main area of interest is the area of
pelvic floor, (prolapse and incontinence)
— Mr O’Sullivan says he has seen a lot of
damage following vaginal births.
“I have a day of surgery this week and
all of my clients are in for prolapsed
wombs and bladders,” he says.
“This occurs as
a direct result of
vaginal childbirth
and unfortunately women are
not made aware
of these very serious consequences. Other
difficulties following vaginal
births include
urinary incontinence and anal
incontinence,
from which
many women
suffer following
childbirth, but
they are not educated about this
prior to giving
birth.
“I believe that
women should be given all the facts before they decide how they would like
their birth to go and then let them make
an informed decision about what is best
for them. We should be honest on all
fronts and not make women feel bad
about what is a very safe option for giving birth,” he says.
So is one option safer than the other?
“An uncomplicated vaginal birth is as
safe as an elective planned section for
mother and baby. With a section you
have the risk of blood clots in the lungs
and legs, but on balance when you consider the complications that can be associated with a vaginal delivery, they are both
as safe as each other.
“We as obstetricians are about creating
families and getting mothers and babies
home safely. When things go wrong with
a vaginal delivery they can go very
wrong. When you have to use forceps or
vacuum to deliver, or if there is shoulder
dystocia and the oxygen levels or heart
rate of the baby is dropping, the labour
ward can be a very lonely place. These
problems simply don’t occur with a
planned C-section,” he points out.

“I have a
day of
surgery
this week
and all of
my
clients
are in for
prolapsed
wombs
and
bladders

R Declan Keane who is a member
of the executive of the Institute of
Obstetrics and Gynaecology, says
he could count on one hand the number
of women who would elect for a planned
C-section birth without medical reasons.
“The ethos at the hospital is that we
would not be encouraging women to opt
for a C-section unless there are medical
reasons for the procedure. In fact, we
would do our utmost to countenance
against it,” he
says.
“I know other
hospitals might
not feel this way,
and maybe part
of the reason
why we don’t
have so many
women seeking
elective sections
for non-medical
reasons is that
they shop
around for hospitals that are
more open to
offering them.
“At the National Maternity
Hospital, we
might see a
dozen women
actually seeking
a C-section for
non-medical
reasons, out of
nine to 10,000 births a year. But in
Dublin alone there are four maternity
hospitals and I know for sure that some of
the others would probably offer elective
sections quicker than we might,” he says.
There are many reasons for not promoting the surgical route for childbirth
and some are medical, he points out.
“For example, after a section there is
increased risk of the placenta adhering to
the uterine wall, mothers are more likely
to bleed from the wound, and there is increased risk of infection in this area.
There is also a longer post-op recovery
time.
“On a practical note, increased C-section deliveries will see theatre lists increase, the workload of gynaecology will
be decreased, there will be more congestion on post-natal wards and longer hospital stays for mothers. Of course, this in
turn will lead to higher costs, and at this
time we are trying to cut costs by dealing
with many less serious surgeries as day
cases as medical costs spiral with the
length of stay required in hospitals.
“We would not be encouraging elective
C-sections for non-medical reasons, and
if a woman has a fear of childbirth we
would always attempt to inform her
about the reality, which is that pain relief
is readily available — 24 hours a day —
in the hospitals in Dublin. And if women
are not choosing vaginal deliveries because of fear, it is an indictment on our
health system.”

“There is
increased
risk of the
placenta
adhering
to the
uterine
wall
and an
increased
risk of
infection

Zone:XH

10 Medical matters

XH - V1

Q

I HAVE tinnitus. It’s probably as a result of listening to
music at high volume at
clubs and through
headphones. My GP has told
me it is a life-long condition and not to
focus on it. But it’s difficult not to. What
do you suggest?

If you have a question about your health
email it to
feelgood@examiner.ie
or send a letter to:
Feelgood
Irish Examiner
City Quarter
Lapps Quay
Cork

A. Tinnitus can certainly be caused by exposure to excessive noise and I’m assuming your
GP has excluded other causes. If you have
one-sided tinnitus, an associated reduction in
your hearing, or any dizziness (vertigo) I
would normally suggest a specialist review.
Tinnitus is often a persistent symptom. It’s
also true to say there is no easy solution, but
there are plenty of approaches which may
help.
Most people find their tinnitus more distracting in quiet rooms, or when they are
trying to settle off to sleep. Playing music,
leaving the radio or TV on as background
noise, or simply leaving a window open, usually masks the tinnitus and prevents you
focusing on it. You can also buy sound generators. These look like a hearing aid but
produce a low-level noise. You can use the
same technique at night and special “pillow
speakers” are available which can prevent
your partner being disturbed and which
switch off automatically.
Many people, especially initially, become
upset or anxious about their continuing tinnitus and there’s some evidence that stress can
aggravate the symptom. You may benefit
from relaxation therapy, or tapes, or even yoga. Your GP may also prescribe medication
to help these symptoms.
Some hospital hearing departments have
specialist tinnitus clinics — you may find this
a helpful place to find out more about your
condition and have your questions answered.
Staff can also provide advice on sound generators and offer individual and group counselling. I’d also recommend contacting the
Irish Tinnitus Association and visiting the
website DeafHear.ie.
Q. My teenage son has developed acne on
his face and shoulders and is quite
self-conscious about it. He has tried a gentle face wash but it has made little or no
difference. What other treatment would
you recommend?

Long delays in processing applications
for medical cards will no longer be
accepted and the backlog of card applications will be cleared by April,
according to the HSE.
The commitment was made following a two-hour visit by the Joint
Oireachtas Committee on Health and
Children to the HSE’s central processing office for medical cards in Finglas
in Dublin last week.
In the meantime, the HSE has said
that people waiting to get their card
renewed can use their old cards. It has
also said that GPs can now prolong the
entitlement of vulnerable medical card
holders who are going through the
renewal process.
Last week’s visit follows severe criticism over delays in processing applications, renewals and claims that some
documents submitted by patients have
been lost.
Committee chairman Jerry Buttimer
claimed that some people have waited
up to nine months for their medical
card. The group wanted to see the
processing system at first-hand.
Director of the HSE Primary Care
Reimbursement Service Paddy Burke
welcomed the committee’s visit.

A. Well over 80% of teenagers have some
degree of acne. The face and upper back are
common sites. It’s important to try and treat
it, because although mild acne won’t cause
scarring and will go with time, as you say it
often affects teenagers’ confidence.
Simply washing more frequently won’t
help, nor is there any real evidence that diet
affects the severity of acne. The good news is
that, because the causes of acne are quite
complex, there are several treatments which
will help and some are available over the
counter. You can ask your pharmacist for advice.
Probably the best way to start is a mild
strength benzoyl peroxide cream, 2.5% is the
weakest. This kills the bacteria which contribute to acne and also unplugs blocked
pores. The most common side-effect is skin

“The visit allowed an opportunity to
highlight the steps we are now taking
to further streamline the process for
applicants,” said Mr Burke.
The HSE recently deployed an extra
20 staff to the office, which brings it
up to 150.
The centralised processing system
was introduced last year by the HSE to
make the system more efficient.

irritation. This can be reduced by using a lower
strength preparation, using it once a day to start
with and buying a water-based rather than alcohol based formulation. It’s not an overnight
cure, he needs to persevere for several weeks
and you’ll need to encourage him.
This may be all your son needs, especially in
the summer, when many people find their acne
improves, unless it’s also very humid. If his acne
is more persistent I’d recommend seeing your
GP, who is likely to suggest a retinoid based gel
or cream, or a combination product also containing an antibiotic. Again these can cause
some mild skin irritation or burning sensation
but this usually settles with time. In some cases
your GP may also suggest dailyantibiotics, often
in combination with a cream or gel.
Acne needs to be taken seriously and treated
as it’s much easier to treat spots than scars.

NOTE: The information contained in Dr Julius Parker’s column is not a substitute for medical advice. Always consult a doctor first

F

Joe McNamee
DAD’S WORLD

Feelgood

OR a spell, daddy daycare was fashionable, a new wave of stay-at-home fathers assuming the traditional maternal
role of feathering the nest for little darlings.
Granted, many fathers were forced by the
huge surge in unemployment but there was a
sizeable number of volunteers putting careers
on hold for hands-on raisin’ an‘ rearin’.
Normally-quiet weekday mornings in the
suburbs became ‘million man marches,’ vast
paternal armies, proudly wheeling progeny in
streamlined strollers and beefed-up buggies.
Former yummy-mummy sanctuaries —
farmers’ markets, shopping malls, anywhere
with a seat and a half-decent latte — became
infested with doting dads (DDs). It seemed
only a matter of time before the Supreme
Court would have to rule on the exclusion
of male parents from mother-and-toddler
groups.
These DDs seemed to have not only
grasped that children’s clothing comes with
separate sleeves for each arm, but were also
shopping for items such as food. Furthermore, they actually cooked the stuff. Hearsay
has it some even swapped household cleaning
tips, but I have never personally heard such a
thing other, of course, than impressively
learned treatises on the correct loading of
dishwashers.
In summary, it was confirmation of what
men had long suspected — staying at home

minding kids is a doddle. Isn’t it?
At what point exactly did the lustre tarnish, did the sheen begin to fade? At what
point did the hackneyed old joke about
do-nothing housewives cracking open the
G&T around midday begin to seem a soundly reasoned survival plan? Invariably, it will
have involved some combination of sleep deprivation and social isolation.
Nothing like a long-running famine of the
Zeds to tip the soundest mind over into
wild, cackling madness. After two solid
weeks, awake, juggling wheezing, spewing
infants, opening a tin of beans becomes a conundrum that can cross eyes permanently.
And I’m not even full-time, sharing the caring with the dearly beloved (DB).
Recently, DB came home from a day’s
work (in other words, sweet, precious contact with the real world, as I work from
home), grabbed a quick bite and headed out
to yoga or some such. More or less what my
father did all his working life, she later
chuckled, as I folded the chicken and
deep-fried the toaster.
Yup, the honeymoon is well and truly over
— I admit it, there is no harder job in the
world than minding children 24/7 and any
‘working’ man sprawled on a couch whining
about his wearisome day wielding, say, a
mouse or even a shovel is a chancer of the
highest order — kids don’t clock out.

FRIDAY, MARCH 9, 2012

After two
solid weeks
awake juggling
wheezing,
spewing infants,
opening a tin of
beans becomes a
conundrum that
can cross eyes
permanently. And
I’m not even
full-time, sharing
the caring with my
Dearly Beloved

Seán Kavanagh knows what having cystic fibrosis means but that is not about to stop
him playing rugby and training twice a week, says Helen O’Callaghan

I

Against the odds

N the first days of Seán’s life, his parents, Joe and Sandra Kavanagh, hoped
he had Hirschsprung’s disease. A condition of the large intestine, it causes constipation. The Bray-based couple hoped this for
their first-born because the alternative was so
much worse.
At Holles Street Hospital, where Seán was
born, doctors suspected he had cystic fibrosis
(CF). In Ireland, one in 19 people carries the
gene for CF, which affects the glands and
damages organs including the lungs, pancreas,
digestive tract and reproductive system. It
causes thick, sticky mucus to be produced,
blocking the bronchial tubes and preventing
the body’s natural enzymes from digesting
food.
“Seán didn’t do that all-important green
nappy after he was born. He had a blockage
in his bowel and the doctor said it was CF. It
was very frightening,” says Joe, who thought
of his only other encounter with CF.
“My sister had pneumonia in the ’80s and
she was tested for CF. When she was in hospital, I saw loads of kids with the condition
who were in wheelchairs. They didn’t have
enzymes then to aid digestion — many of
those kids died from starvation because they
couldn’t absorb food,” he says.
Transferred to Crumlin Children’s Hospital,
where he spent a week in intensive care,
Seán’s diagnosis seemed milder. “A doctor
told us he was 99% sure Seán had
Hirschsprung’s disease, where a part of the
child’s intestine is dead. They take out the
dead part and join up the remaining two
pieces. Compared to CF, we thought this was
good.” But their hopes were dashed when
tests confirmed CF. “We felt our whole
world had come to an end,” Joe says.
After six weeks, the Kavanaghs brought
Seán home to live with the challenges of CF.
“It was all new to us. He suffered from reflux
and would puke up his bottle. We knew we
needed to get as much food into him as possible to get his weight up. Every week, we’d
take him to Crumlin Hospital to be weighed
and he’d only have put on two ounces,” he
says.
Within a few months, Seán outgrew the
reflux and began holding down food. But his
care meant other demands, such as
twice-a-day physiotherapy. “We’d cup our
hands and tap him on the chest, under the
arm, and on the back 600 times a day to dislodge mucus in his lungs. We did this until
he was three and got a little mask with which
he could do breathing exercises,” he says.
Now 13 and a first-year student at Presentation College Bray, where he loves languages, Seán is irrepressible and lives life to
the full. While his dad, who works in sales,
wanted him to play golf rather than rugby
(“Exercise helps dislodge mucus but too
much exercise causes weight loss”), Seán had
other ideas. “He wanted to play rugby and
he gave up golf. He loves rugby. He trains
twice a week and plays matches on some
Wednesdays. With golf, I used to have to tell
him to get his golf clubs. No such thing with
rugby — he has all the gear,” he says.
For years, Joe wanted an activity he and
Seán could do together. “I thought about a
tandem bicycle but it had to wait until he
was older.” When Seán was 10, the pair cycled 176 miles from Bray to Ballyhea, Seán’s

Feelgood

LARGER THAN LIFE: Seán Kavanagh is slight but determined. When he was 10, he and his
father, Joe, cycled 176 miles on a tandem to raise money for CF. Picture: Nick Bradshaw
granny’s home village in Cork. They raised
€30,000, which went towards a new
four-bed CF unit in Crumlin Children’s

Hospital. Seán spent two weeks in the hospital prior to last Christmas and — though on
intravenous antibiotics to rid him of a diffi-

cult infection — his good humour won the
day. “He got one of the new rooms. He was
in a motorised bed and was telling everyone
he’d raised the money for this bed,” he says.
One of the biggest challenges continues to
be weight-maintenance. “He’s very slight.
Considering what he eats, he should be 20
stone.”
Seán takes vitamins, as well as enzymes,
daily to help him break down fatty foods and
to aid digestion. He’s on a nebuliser three
times a day — this delivers antibiotic treatment to protect against infection. He has recently got a new type of nebuliser, which has
reduced his sessions from 10 minutes each to
three minutes.
Just into his teens, Seán’s entering a phase
of life when — according to studies — many
young people with CF rebel against taking
their medication because it’s so inconvenient.
For this reason, the CF world welcomed last
November the launch of a new hand-held,
portable inhaler — the Podhaler, which
medics hope will result in better treatment-compliance, mainly because it has the
potential to dramatically cut down the four
and a half hours that patients spend each
week connected to a mains-powered nebuliser. Adding to its user-friendly appeal is the
fact that it doesn’t need to be washed but
simply wiped with a dry cloth after use.
CF is a progressive, life-threatening disease.
“Sometimes, you forget Seán has it. Other
times, you remember and it’s depressing —
knowing the outcome isn’t going to be so
good. We’re hoping he’ll get a good old spin
out of life,” Joe says.
The Kavanaghs’ eight-year-old daughter,
Sarah, doesn’t have CF.
When Seán was born, a dad whose
10-year-old girl had CF gave the couple
some much-valued advice. “He said, ‘you
don’t have CF — Seán does. Don’t live CF’.
We don’t. We have a little girl too and if we
did live CF we’d be neglecting her.”
The couple also take their cue from Seán.
“He knows all about what having CF means
but he doesn’t say ‘I’m only going to live ’til
whenever’. He’s a clever fellow and he sometimes uses CF to his advantage, like when he
tells some girls he’s very ill so as to get a kiss
off them,” Joe says.
● Visit www.cfireland.ie.

Ireland has highest proportion of CF sufferers
One of Ireland’s most common life-threatening inherited diseases, about one in 19
people is a carrier of the CF gene.
■ Ireland has 1,100 people with CF — the
highest proportion in any country in the
world.
■ Two carriers have a one in four chance of
their baby being born with the condition.
■ CF affects the glands, damaging organs
including the lungs, pancreas, digestive tract
and reproductive system. It mainly affects
the lungs and digestive system.

■ It causes the production of a thick, sticky
mucus that blocks bronchial tubes. Build-up
of mucus makes it difficult to clear bacteria,
leaving the sufferer prone to cycles of lung
infections and inflammation. These repeated
attacks can damage the lungs.
■ Mucus prevents the body’s natural
enzymes from digesting food, so it’s difficult
for the person to absorb sufficient nutrients.
For this reason, people with CF must
consume artificial enzymes with food, to help
them get adequate nutrition.
■ For most patients, symptoms appear in

FRIDAY, MARCH 9, 2012

the first year of life, though they may appear
later in the teens or in adulthood. First sign
of the condition in the newborn is likely to be
intestinal obstruction.
■ It’s impossible to predict the outcome for
a person with CF — for some people, lung
disease can progress rapidly, despite early
diagnosis and treatment. Others have a
more favourable journey, reaching adulthood. Some factors considered important in
determining prognosis include treatment,
nutrition, lifestyle and compliance, as well as
exposure to viral, bacterial and fungal
infections.

Beat the ingredients to make a smooth batter.
Dip slices of white or brown bread into the
mix and place immediately on a hot pan with
a knob of butter. Turn and cook until golden. Dust with icing sugar just before serving.

Roz Crowley

While a Virgin Mary is an alcohol-free
Bloody Mary, for more interest swap the traditional vodka for beef stock and make a
fiery, alcohol-free concoction to set her up
for the day.

T’S hard to beat a foodie treat for
any celebration. Prepared with love
and served with affection, no mother could fail to appreciate the effort.
Calories don’t count on Mother’s Day,
so let it rip and dish up whatever she fancies. We can spend a fortune on gifts and
vouchers for the most luxurious spas, but
recession or not, an imaginative collection
of homemade gifts goes a long way.
Start the day with breakfast in bed (ideas
below), followed by running a bath for her
and perhaps serving a little tipple to add to
the luxury.
Make a big cookie, pressing a hole
through the centre before baking, so you
can tie ribbon on to it. Whether you are
an adult helping a child or a child old
enough to make it yourself, spontaneity is
the key, along with generous dollops of
love and fun.
Try some cupcakes, plain or drizzled
with a little maple
syrup and topped with
finely chopped
grilled rashers.
Tie a few
branches of a tree
together with a ribbon and
attach a few chocolates wrapped in
coloured paper. They will look great beside a mug of mother’s favourite morning
drink, but if there is a proper cup and
saucer in the house, this is the time to
bring it into action.
Don’t forget the lie in. An extra hour in
bed in peace is sometimes all a mother
wants. Bring her favourite newspaper or
magazine to enjoy as she lingers.
BREAKFAST IDEAS
Toasted muesli/granola with added fresh
fruit. Most soft fruit is imported at this
time of year, so in view of St Patrick’s Day,
stay green and local and opt for stewed apple or sliced apple cooked in a little butter
and sugar. This is good on pancakes too.
A fried or poached egg on a toasted bagel
dusted with finely
grated parmesan is
delicious. If she
likes a full Irish, cut
through the fat by
serving some
stewed apple on the
side.
Croissants slit and
filled with a little
grated chocolate
and a few chopped
almonds and
warmed in the oven
(not the microwave) are quite a treat.
French toast
This is a delicious, old-fashioned treat, try
it with bacon, sausages, smoked fish, or
drizzled with maple syrup.

Bloody Bull: 50ml cold beef stock, 200ml
tomato juice, 1 dessp lemon juice, 3 drops
Worcestershire sauce, 2 drops Tabasco, pinch
black pepper.
Mix with some crushed ice and pour over
ice cubs. Serve with a stick of celery. This is
good with hot, buttered toast.
AFTERNOON TEA
One my favourite easy treats is a simple
fruit tart made with bought puff pastry.
Fruit tart: Defrost and roll out gently and
thinly to line a tart tin. Top
with slices of fruit — apples
and pears make the best of
seasonal produce. Be generous with the fruit and
sit the slices at a 45 degree angle to the pastry,
so there is plenty of
weight to keep the pastry
down.
Keep a few centimetres around the edge
free to allow a decent border, which will fluff
up and look flaky. Brush with beaten egg for
a golden finish. Dot the fruit with butter and
sprinkle with sugar. Place in the oven preheated to 200C/400F/gas 6 for 20-30 mins.

BOWLED OVER: A
lie-in is a treat for
mum, preferably
with breakfast.
Picture: Thinkstock

You can spend a fortune on gifts and vouchers for
Mother’s Day but giving her breakfast or afternoon tea
or running a bath for her adds that personal loving touch

Marian’s recipe for happiness is a tasty treat
Saved by Cake by Marian Keyes is a
cookbook with a difference and will make
a lovely gift for mothers who want to learn
more about baking.
A long introduction explains how the
popular novelist, suffering from depression, found that baking helped to shift her
focus away from her dark thoughts and
onto delicious treats for friends and family.
She attacked the process of learning
to bake with what seems like obsessional

gusto. Learning as she tested, she
worked on a wide range of treats from
green tea pannacotta to cheesecakes to
lots of colourful cupcakes.
By trial and error she has taught herself to bake and, as a result, has plenty
of common sense tips, noting how cupcake cases vary so much in size and
telling us how to cool cakes properly.
The tone of her book is light and
chummy, and there is a sense of cama-

Makes 6 slices

Feelgood

FRIDAY, MARCH 9, 2012

raderie about the process
of getting recipes right together.
A lovely gift for anyone
who wants to bake but is
afraid to.
● Published in hardback
by Michael Joseph (Penguin), good value at
€15.99.

A father’s anti-drug crusade
E
VEN though Derek Jennings
worked in addiction support, he
didn’t know his own child had
started using drugs. “Being a man, I said, ‘I’ll
stop it’,” he says of his 14-year-old’s
addiction.
“But I was powerless, there was nothing I
could do. That was one of my biggest difficulties — that I couldn’t do anything about
it.
“My child was in the house, out of the
house; was robbing, homeless, in foster care;
came back to the house, was on drugs, off
drugs, on treatment, off treatment,” he says
of the four years his child was addicted.
“In hindsight, it was damaging the other
children — I totally neglected them because
I was so tied up in my other child’s addiction,” he says. Because his child is now
drug-free, Derek, who is from Clondalkin,
Co Dublin, says does not name either his
child or mention gender, in order to protect
the child’s anonymity.
The breakthrough for Derek came one
Christmas. “Money went missing and I put
my child out of the house in January. I decided to cut all ties because I couldn’t take it
any more — the enabling, the fear. My child
went to a hostel, then to Limerick and then
home again, completely drug-free,” he says.

TOUGH LOVE:
Derek
Jennings says
addicts need
to fight their
own battles if
they are to
beat the
addiction.

Deirdre O'Flynn

MOSTLY MEN

Derek says that as connected as he was to
addiction-support services, he was
ill-equipped to deal with his child’s addiction
— and that men were largely absent in using
those support services. “With a psychologist,
I set up Fathers of Addicts Support Group,
14 years ago. The first night, we had three
men, then four, then five. The biggest attendance we’ve had is 17. Over 130 men have
passed through the group — it’s peer-led
support from the other fathers in the group,”
he says.
The group travels the country with a Men
At Work drama, telling the true-life experiences of fathers with a child addicted to
drugs. It is involved in Wasted, a new two-act
play, scripted and acted by family members,
including Derek, affected by drug addiction
and told from the point of view of parents,
grandparents, siblings and the drug users.
The story of how two Dublin families

Picture: Maura
Hickey

cope with their daughters’ addiction to heroin will be performed in Blanchardstown on
March 30, before a possible nationwide tour
(full details on www.gbrd.ie).
“The best help you can give your child
with drug addiction is no help. Giving up

Safety advice plan
for small businesses

Soccer star kicks
off Asthma Run

The Health and Safety Authority is organising breakfast
briefings for small-business
owners around the country
in the next month.
From 8.15am-10.15am,
the briefings will advise you
on how to reduce the chance
of an accident in your workplace, save time and money,
learn to generate your own
risk assessments and
safety statements, and
comply with
health-andsafety legislation.
The briefings will be in
the Portlaoise

Ireland defender and Sunderland star John O’Shea is just
one sportsman supporting
the Asthma Society’s Great
Open Airways Run campaign. John, along with other
household sporting names
like Ronan O’Gara, has asthma. He is pictured here at
the campaign launch with
actress Charlie
Murphy.
The Great Open
Airways Run campaign will fundraise
for the Asthma
Society which has
had a 30% cut in
funding.
“Exercise is a
common trigger for
asthma, but exercise

FAIR CUPPA: Ireland now has one of
the highest per capita spends on Fairtrade Certified products in the world.
Last year sales grew by 16%, driven
by companies converting well-known brands to
Fairtrade.
This year’s campaign is asking people to
Take A Step for Fairtrade, like swapping your
tea. To celebrate Fairtrade Fortnight Marks & Spencer has
launched the first Kenyan tea,
Mount Kenya, to be grown and
packed at source. Fairtrade Ireland is also undertaking a threeyear campaign to promote the
sales of Fairtrade Certified Cotton
in Ireland. Fairtrade cotton items
are now available from a number
of retail outlets including M&S
and Tesco; See www.fairtrade.ie.

Feelgood

is good for everyone, including people with asthma,” says
Dr Jean Holohan, CEO of
the Asthma Society.
“Even if exercise is a trigger for your asthma, that
does not mean the end of
being active. It can be prevented and treated so that
everyone can reach their own
sporting potential.”
Ireland has the
fourth highest
prevalence of asthma in the world.
More than
470,000 people live
with asthma across
the country.
● Contact the
Asthma Society on
01-8178886

drugs is about them. You have to focus on
the non-drug using children and build a normal family life,” Mr Jennings says.
● For further information on Fathers of Addicts Support Group, contact Derek on
086-1567653.

DId you know...

Adult males with
strong immune
systems are seen
as more sexually
attractive to
females
(Source: University of Abertay, Dundee, Scotland)

Fairtrade

2

FAIR PRICE: The recession has
hit Fairtrade Certified coffee
sales, which are down 6% compared to 2010. Lidl has reduced
the prices of its Fairglobe range to
celebrate Fairtrade Fortnight, with
Fairglobe Organic Coffee del Mundo
down from €5.49 to €3.49 and its
Fairglobe SA Cabernet/Savignon/Merlot is down from €5.99 to €3.99.
Sales of Fairtrade Certified bananas
grew by an estimated 25% in 2011
and Lidl’s Fairtrade Organic bananas are now 99c for a pack of
five. Their Fairtrade orange juice,
chocolate and sugar are also reduced to less than a euro until Mar
11.

3

FAIR SPICES: If you prefer herbal tea, Pukka’s
Vanilla Chai blend contains a mix of six organic
and Fairtrade herbs and spices
sourced from small, independent
farmers, including Fairtrade Cinnamon bark and Fairtrade Vanilla
pods from organic farms in India.
This caffeine-free
warming blend also
contains ginger and
fennel for
digestion, cardamom seed and
sweet licorice root.
Pukka Vanilla Chai
is €2.85 for 20
sachets from Tesco
and health stores.

FRIDAY, MARCH 9, 2012

4

FAIR BEAUTY: The Swedish natural cosmetics company, Oriflame, has launched its new
Fairtrade certified, Ecobeauty range of three
moisturising face creams in Ireland to coincide with Fairtrade Fortnight 2012. The Ecobeauty
range will be sold in over 60 countries and will bring
significant benefits to small farmers of Shea nuts and
coconuts in Burkina Faso and India.
This innovative new product range was
developed by the Oriflame R&D department
in Bray, Co Wicklow. It is free from any
animal-derived substances, parabens,
silicone, mineral oils and synthetic fragrances, and the product packs have 100%
recyclable packaging materials.
The Ecobeauty range includes a smoothing
eye-cream, €17.95, and a day cream and
night cream, both €23.95, which can be
bought online at www.oriflame-ireland.com or
call 083-418 6250.

The news on...
HEEL HELP
March is not a great month for heels. But
it’s a good month to start sorting them
out before you have to show them off to
the world, sometime around May.
Scholl is the obvious place
to look for good heel-fixers,
but M&S have a good heel
treatment for just €5.50, with
glycerine, sweet almond oil
and shea butter. Cracked heels
begone.

Emily O’Sullivan

Get lippy this season
with the latest fruity
colours. And make
your own statement

Take three...

T

ANGY tangerines, hot bubblegum pinks and sexy reds —
this summer they’re calling it the
“statement lip”. And it is one of spring/summer’s biggest beauty looks.
The first thing to decide is what kind of
finish you’re after. And there’s a baffling
amount of choice out there, with every beauty company worth its salt bringing out brand
new formulations and super-cool finishes that
make you want to break out and wear orange.
First up, and a popular launch this year, is
the stain. Right, so stains are nothing new
but they’re now coming in easy-to-apply
pen-shapes from the likes of Rimmel and
New York Colour. Personally, the jury’s out
on this one — your lips need to be in really
excellent condition or else the colour sinks
into the cracks, and it can also wear off in a
slightly patchy way. Still, if you’re after
longevity then they are a good choice, but
for the best effect team them up with a lip
gloss or a clear lip balm (or if you want to
splash out, Clarins’s Instant Light Natural Lip
Perfector, €17).
Gloss has fallen from grace over the last few
years, but it’s trying to establish its relevance
once again. Bright lip glosses also need to be
worn with a degree of care. Unless you apply
them carefully the colour can gather on the
outer edges of the lips, making you look like
you’ve applied a raggy lipliner. To prevent
this, blot as you would with lipstick — a layer of gloss, blot and then apply another layer.
Another tip is to keep away from deep bright
shades, such as crimson reds and neon fuchsias in a gloss formulation — they work best
when you’re going for tangy oranges or confetti pinks, so keep it to the softer end of the
scale.

GEL EYELINERS
The real way to line your eyes right now
is with a gel eyeliner. These newbies are
very affordable, which is always nice.

ON TREND:
A hot pink
lipstick is one
of the hottest
looks around.

Candy gloss

L’Oreal Gel Intenza Eyeliner, €14.99.
Most gel eyeliners leave you to sort your
own brush out, but L’Oreal, like the others here, have opted for the genius move
of including one with the liner. The small
pot has a good amount of black product
in it, and the brush is nicely shaped and
was easy to work with the product. It
gives a good dense black tone, and lasted well through the day.
Rimmel Waterproof Gel Eyeliner, €7.95.
The liquid went on well, with a deep, dark
glossy line, and it stayed there all day.
You get a really tiny amount in the pot,
but it’s fairly priced. The brush is housed
within the pot, which makes it a handy
one for travelling, too.
Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama
Gel Eyeliner, €11.99. Billed as 24-hour
wear, this is a great little gel eyeliner that
does what you’d expect from a good gel
— it gives great colour, it’s long wearing,
and it’s easy to apply. And it’s a great alternative to more expensive products. It
was launched a year ago, so isn’t as new
as the others, but don’t hold that against
it.

My best bet? Leave the sticky glosses alone
and go for a more sophisticated gloss option
with rich moisturising tinted lip balms or super-sheer lipstick formulations.
Speaking of which, a matte finish for lips is
still a big look (there was a lot of “matte with
a blurry edge” going on at the spring/summer catwalk shows), but the big story for
spring is super-sheer and high shine treatment lipsticks. Playful, young and fun, there
are some cracking colours out there, and they
really do inject a feeling of freshness after a
winter of plums and matt red.
Let the good times roll with a super-cool
hot pink — one of the hottest looks around

New York Cololor Lipstain 16H
Smooch-Proof Lip Stain, €3.99. Perfect lips
are required for this one, and it can be quite
drying, so if you’re prone to dry lips then it
might be best to give it a miss. The pen applicator makes it fun to apply, but it can stain
patchily so apply a few coats. Does it stay on?
Oh yes, and at €3.99 it’s affordable enough to
experiment with.

lovely coraly shade, it has a lovely sheer effect
that makes it subtle and very pretty indeed.

This is a cracking shade but not for the feint
hearted.

Yves Saint Laurent Volupté Sheer Candy in
No114, €31.50. YSL’s spring look is all about
“Candy Face” with jelly-style formulations and
super-sweet shades. This is a rich lip balm,
with the taste of mango and a very rich
sumptuous texture. A lip treat if ever there
was one.

Korres Lip Butter in Mango, €7.50. Designed
as a lip balm, these butters act almost more
like a treatment lipstick, such is the intensity of
colour. They feel lovely on the lips, and leaving
them beautifully soft.

STUFF WE LIKE
Mac Sheen Supreme Lipstick in Insanely It,
€17.50. We’re loving this one. It’s a hot neon
watermelon shade that makes you want to
load on the fake tan and throw on the sunglasses. It looks gorgeous with a pale complexion and minimal eye make-up, while come
high summer it’ll fit right in with bronzer and
pinched-cheeks.
Giorgio Armani Rouge
d’Armani Sheer in 500, €26.
The colour of this candy pink
looks strong at first glance, but
once on the lips it’s as subtle as
can be. If you’re after a more intense, edgy colour then you can
always layer it on.

Feelgood

Rimmel Chanel Rouge Coco
Shine Hydrating Sheer Lipstick in
Flirt, €26.90. This is the kind of lip
colour that makes us wish we
were wearing Breton stripes and
white plimpsoles in the south of
France. It’s summer incarnate. A

Christian Dior Sérum de Rouge Luminous
Colour Lip Treatment in Magenta Crystal,
€30.50. As well as having a SPF of 20, this
luxury lipstick from Dior is packed with skincare ingredients to care for your lips to help
promote moisture, volume and smoothing.

Megan Sheppard
Do you have a question for
Megan Sheppard?
Email it to
feelgood@examiner.ie
or send a letter to
Feelgood
Irish Examiner
City Quarter
Lapps Quay
Cork

A FEW years ago, I was diagnosed with scalp dermatitis. I have tried several
products recommended by
my doctor without much relief. Anything that helps is short-lived. As
soon as I stop using it the symptoms return. Any help you can give me would be
greatly appreciated, as the condition is
driving me mad.
A. Scalp dermatitis is a harmless scaling rash
resulting from the yeast pityrosporum ovale,
normally present on the scalp, multiplying
out of control. This leads to the sebaceous
glands producing too much oil, which triggers the inflammation and maddening itch.
Dandruff is scalp dermatitis without the inflammation.
The first step is to look at the shampoo and
conditioner you use — I like the Living Nature range. Try its balancing and revitalising
shampoo for oily hair, with native New
Zealand medicinal plants such as Kumerahou
(the fresh leaves of which will produce a lather due to their saponin content) and Manuka
honey, well-known for its healing properties.
(Living Nature products are available from
Premier Organics.)
With long-term issues such as this, it makes
sense to support your immune system. Start
by taking 50mg of zinc each day. Pumpkin
seeds are a great source of zinc, however to
get 50mg you would need to munch your
way through 6.5 cups of them.
The best food source of zinc is the expensive oyster, although you would only need
four to fill your daily quota.
Stress reduction is an important part of the
equation, since scalp dermatitis is exacerbated
by stress — a catch-22 situation due to the
stressful nature of the symptoms themselves.
A standardised extract of the herb eleutheroccus senticosus, available as the supplement
Elagen (www.elagen.com), will reduce stress
while strengthening your immunity.
If oily fish doesn’t feature in your healthy
diet and lifestyle, then you may want to consider adding the likes of sardine, mackerel,
and herrings to your grocery list.
If fish doesn’t appeal, then take a good
fish-oil supplement, high in EPA. MorEPA
capsules, from health stores and Healthy and
Essential (www.healthyandessential.ie;
045-892267), are ideal.
I don’t usually recommend a host of supplements, preferring diet and lifestyle changes
as a long-term solution. However, in this
case, there is one more supplement that will
likely tip the balance in your favour, and that
is a good quality probiotic. Seven Seas’ advanced formula multibionta is ideal. It has
been freeze-dried so it doesn’t need to be
kept in the refrigerator, plus the tablets contain vitamins and minerals which will help
address any underlying deficiencies.
To treat the immediate issue of the itching

15

Dandruff
is basically
scalp
dermatitis
without the
inflammation.
The first step
is to look at
the type of
shampoo and
conditioner
you use

Picture: iStock

and irritation, rinse your scalp with a
warm/cool chamomile tea, or use a calendula lotion (many natural baby lotions are suitable for this purpose). Calendula helps to repair and soothe the skin, while chamomile is
calming and will treat the itching and
swelling.
Q. I have a problem with red and inflamed gums, particularly between my
teeth. They bleed when I brush, and are
quite painful. Is there anything natural
that can help with this?
A. The first place to check is the ingredient
panels on your current oral hygiene products. Many conventional toothpastes — not
to mention shampoo, conditioner, bubble
bath and body wash — contain sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS), an industrial chemical
used as a degreaser and foaming agent.
With an increasing public awareness of the
toxic chemicals routinely included in many
everyday products, a wide range of safe alternatives has appeared on the market. Most

health stores will carry eco-friendly bathroom products.
Flossing is the other main piece of the
puzzle when it comes to gum health. Although this might seem like the last thing
that you want to do when your gums are so
inflamed and sore, you will be surprised at
how quickly flossing will bring relief.
Discuss flossing methods with your dentist
if you feel that you are doing more damage
than good, although it is likely that you will
notice a huge difference just by gently flossing between your teeth after each meal,
since it is the food particles becoming
trapped which is likely aggravating the gums.
There are also tiny inter-dental brushes
which may help — I like the Piksters range,
and they come in all sizes to accommodate a
variety of teeth-spacing. You should also use
a soft-bristled toothbrush if you really want
to look after your teeth and gums, brushing
with the side of the bristles from the base to
the top of the tooth, with gentle, downward
stroking motions rather than scrubbing in
circles as so many of us do without thinking.

■ NOTE: The information contained above is not a substitute for medical advice. Always consult a doctor first.

Megan puts the spotlight on:

V

ITAMIN B12 helps to prevent
anaemia by assisting in the formation of red blood cells. It is also
necessary for the metabolism of carbohydrates, fat and protein, important to
nervous system health, energy production, growth in children, and is crucial
for calcium absorption. Deficiency can
result in pernicious anaemia, growth
failure in children, nervous disorders,
spinal cord degeneration, depression,
brain damage, fatigue, lack of appetite,
and balance problems.
It is widely publicised that vegans and
vegetarians are at risk of B12 deficiency,
and many people who choose to eat this
way make it a priority to supplement
with this essential nutrient. However, it
is little known that meat eaters are just

Feelgood

as frequently diagnosed with low B12 as
those who avoid animal products.
Sally Pacholok and Jeffrey J Stuart,
authors of Could It Be B12? state,
“While you need only a tiny, tiny
amount of B12 each day (two to four
micrograms or about a millionth of an
ounce), it’s remarkably easy to become
deficient in this nutrient. While deficiency often occurs in vegans or vegetarians who fail to take the right supplements, the majority of B12 deficient
people eat plentiful amounts of the vitamin — it’s just that their bodies can’t
absorb or use it.”
Vitamin B12 absorption is a very
complex issue, and it is this process
which leads to such widespread deficiency among people of all types of di-

The Vitamin B12 Myth
etary persuasions. Any disruption in the
absorption process will hinder the utilisation of vitamin B12 by the body.
A crucial step in the absorption process involves intrinsic factor (IF), which
is a glycoprotein that combines with
B12 and carries the vitamin to the
ileum (at the end of the intestinal tract)
for absorption. Basically, if
you don’t produce enough of
this IF, then you are not able
to absorb the B12 you consume through your diet.
Drinking alcohol, smoking
cigarettes, taking medication,
eating frozen foods, and regularly using colonic cleansing
or irrigation all affect IF and
the ability to absorb B12.

FRIDAY, MARCH 9, 2012

It is a commonly held belief that intestinal bacteria are a sufficient source of
B12, and many mammals have this ability
as a result of gastrointestinal fermentation.
However, it appears that humans are not
getting enough via our diets or our intestines, so it is worth getting tested, and
if your levels are low, then do supplement
with a sublingual preparation.
Methylcobalamin is preferable to
cyanocobalamin, since it is better
absorbed — but both types appear
to help increase B12 stores, which
can stay in the body for up to five
years if
needed.

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